Necklace snap combination

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a novel necklace snap device and the necklace or bracelet utilizing such device, including male and female snaps having link structure attached along a lateral edge of the flat structure in a manner such that the male-female snaps when fastened matedly to one-another will lie flat against the body or surface of the skin of the person wearing the necklace around the neck or the bracelet around the wrist and which provides by the snap arrangement a secure means for avoiding the necklace device from opening and accidentally losing the necklace or bracelet during the course of wearing the same, but concurrently provides for easy mechanism for taking-off the necklace or bracelet by merely prising open conventional type snaps which have been combined with the necklace or bracelet structure in substitution for the old prior fastening devices which required intricate maneuvering of the fingers and that the fingers be agile in order to remove the locks or otherwise unfasten one ring from another at the opposing ends of the necklace or bracelet.

United States Patent [191 Friedlander Aug. 20, 1974 NECKLACE SNAP COMBINATION [76] Inventor: Rudolph Friedlander, 680 Fort Washington Ave., New York, NY. 10040 22 Filed: May3, 1973 211 Appl. No.1 356,730

Primary Examiner-Bernard A. Gelak [5 7] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a novel necklace snap device and the necklace or bracelet utilizing such device, including male and female snaps having link structure attached along a lateral edge of the flat structure in a manner such that the male-female snaps when fastened matedly to one-another will lie flat against the body or surface of the skin of the person wearing the necklace around the neck or the bracelet around the wrist and which provides by the snap arrangement a secure means for avoiding the necklace device from opening and accidentally losing the necklace or bracelet during the course of wearing the same, but concurrently provides for easy mechanism for taking-off the necklace or bracelet by merely prising open conventional type snaps which have been combined with the necklace or bracelet structure in substitution for the old prior fastening devices which required intricate maneuvering of the fingers and that the fingers be agile in order to remove the locks or otherwise unfasten one ring from another at the opposing ends of the necklace or bracelet.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 NECKLACE SNAP COMBINATION This invention relates to jewelry of the necklace and- /or bracelet type and to the fastening mechanism thereof for holding the necklace or bracelet in the joined state.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Prior to the present invention there have existed through many, many years many troublesome conventional fastening mechanisms handed down through the ages which typically comprise two opposing circle links, one with either a pivotably opening link or with an axially sliding latch spring-biased into the closed state, or other such latch device which fastens into a hook in an opposing end of the chain or strap of the necklace or bracelet as the case may be, but particularly for neclaces where a tidy appearance is desirable and where for both appearance and comfort and therefore for practicality and successful salability of the necklace it is essential for the fastening device to lie flatly against the chest or throat or breast of the person wearing the necklace. With such fastening devices, there has continually been difficulty to the wearer 1 thereof in the opening of the fastening mechanism in order to either mount or dismount the necklace or bracelet. Additionally, the cost of manufacturing such links has added to the expense of the items themselves.

Additionally, such devices are highly susceptible to breakage or otherwise becoming inoperative by virtue of being bent, or corroded or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, objects of the present invention include the overcoming of one or more difficulties and/or problems and/or disadvantages of the type discussed above.

Another object of the present invention is to obtain a novel joining device for necklaces and/or bracelets or the like, overcoming the difficulties, problems, and disacvantages of the type discussed above.

Another object is a new joining device particularly suitable for necklaces and bracelets having new and novel advantages over those heretofore available.

Another object is to obtain a necklace or bracelet joining structure which seats itself flushly and comfortably and aesthetically desirably and neatly in the mounted state, against the skin surface against which it is lying.

Another object is to obtain a necklace or bracelet joining device for the mounting of the necklace or bracelet onto the person around the neck or wrist or ankle, with the structure, and cost of labor in the manufacture thereof, being minimal in'comparison to that of prior latching devices.

Another object is to obtain a latching device suitable as a part of miniature construction such as would be characteristic of quality necklaces and bracelets of a fine and expensive type, jointly achieving one or more of the preceding objects stated above.

Other objects become apparent from the preceding and following disclosure.

- One or more objects of the present invention are obtained by the invention as defined herein.

Broadly the invention maybe defined as a necklace or bracelet or other latching device which is made-up of a link structure which in fact may be either a male type link or alternatively may be only an aperturestructure defined-hole or receptacle receivable therethrough of a chain link with the link structure being'a fixed part of a flattened base having a male projection extending about uprightly to the male base and transversely to the direction of the chain link that would extend therefrom, such as a conventional male snap, and with an opposing female snap structure of a fiat-base nature having an aperture or receptacle defined therein for receiving transversely and perpendicular to the female face structure the male base projection of the male snap, with the female structure having a similar attaching mechanism for a chain-like link, whereby heretofore conventional male and female snaps have been adapted for purposes of jewelry necklace and bracelet devices and have the advantage of lying flat on flat skin surfaces while being simple to open and close but secure against accidental lose thereof. Preferably however there is a preferred type snap device. The necklace of bracelet may be removed simply by the parting of the male and female snaps from one-another. Preferably there is provided either a handle structure or a portion of each of each of the bases or of the linkmounting structure making it easy for handling the separate opposing snaps during the fastening and unfastening thereof.

FIG. 2 illustrates in perspective view a necklace of the type to which the present invention refers, embodying the snap-device of the present invention in typical representative embodiment thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 2, illustrating in greater in greater detail in side view the nature of the latching device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section in side view an alternative latch device of a variation on that of FIG. 1, in side perspective view, in opposing detached state.

, FIG. 4 illustrates a view of the embodiment of FIG.

1, in elevation plan view of the flat base as taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side cross-sectional view as taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION a male link structure extending from an edge of themale snap structure defining a ring into which a chain link is engagable and mountable and is illustrated mounted'therewith in link form, as link 9, and the female snap device 8 including an extension thereof with an aperture-defining structure defining an aperture 11a therein into which a chain link is engaged as link 12a of the overall necklace 12 connected with eventually link 12b and with link engaging structure 11b of the male snap base 7b. The female snap structure includes a fiat base 7a defining a snap-in aperture 6a receivable of the male enlarged-head projection 6b. The FIG. 4 gives a plan elevation view as taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. l and illustrates the receptacle space 8a defined by the female snap structure with a cut-out portion on at least one rim thereof defining an inwardly biased tongue 9a with circumscribing free-space 9b allowing the tongue to flex radially outwardly from the hole 6a (FIG. 1) when the head 6b (FIG. 1) is pressed into the hole 6a, the diameter of the hole 6a being at least as great as the greatest diameter of the head 6b except for the inwardly leaning tongue 9a.

FIG. taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 further illustrates in cross-section the elements above-discussed of the female snap structure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment having preferred handle structures 14a and 14b, and in which the link structure is in a plane perspendicular to the flat-faced bases of the male and female snap structures respectively.

Although merely a single neclace and no bracelet is illustrated, it is to be understood that the invention applies also to variations, as well as to broaches such as for example shown as 13 in phantom, or to watches, or

the like.

Accordingly, it is within the scope and spirit of the invention to make such modifications and variations as are apparent to a person of ordinary skill, including the substitution of equivalent elements.

I claim:

1. A necklace device comprising in combination: a miniature jewelry-necklace fastening-link means including a base structure with an integral headed male snap-in projection having a head ofa snap-in-fastener type, a female base structure defining an integral female receptacle having an integral wall structured as a flat face having a circular aperture therein structured for snap-in receipt of the male-snap-in projection and snap-out of the male-snap-in projection in solely a plane substantially transversely perpendicular to the flat face, said male base structure defining a substantially flat face with said male-snap-in projection extending about perpendicularly to the flat face of the male base such that when mated with male-snap-in projection the ,male and female flat faces lie substantially flushly with one-another in parallel planes, and including for each of said male base structure and said female base structure a rigid integral, substantially flat handle projection for snap-in-unification maneuvering and snap-out-separation maneuvering of the male-snap-in projection and the female receptacle, in which each of the rigid handle projection means extends laterally outwardly from its respective adjoining base structures flat face thereof in a plane substantially common to the plane of the adjoining flat face, said aperture being slightly larger than the largest dimension of said male projection, said female recaptacle having generally the same shape as said male projection and being slightly larger to accommodate said male projection, said receptacle substantially entirely covering said aperture on one side, said receptacle being integrally connected along its open edge to substantially the entire edge of said aperture except for a single cut-away, said cutaway being three-sided and extending into both the receptacle and the edge of said aperture thereby forming a single integral resilient tongue which has an intermediate curved portion extending into said aperture and an end portion spaced from the end of the cut-away portion in the edge of said aperture, such that upon insertion of the male projection the curved portion flexes radially outwardly to thereafter snap-back radially inwardly to snap-secure the male projection within the receptacle, the male projection having an enlarged head relative to its neck portion and each of the male and female base structures including integral link ring structure attached to and including a cord means providing a necklace of miniature structure drapable around ones appendage with the cord means extending between the respective link ring structures of the male and female base structures.

2. A necklace device of claim 1, in which said cord means includes a chain made-up of a series of chainlike links interconnected with one-another. 

1. A necklace device comprising in combination: a miniature jewelry-necklace fastening-link means including a base structure with an integral headed male snap-in projection having a head of a snap-in-fastener type, a female base structure defining an integral female receptacle having an integral wall structured as a flat face having a circular aperture therein structured for snap-in receipt of the male-snap-in projection and snap-out of the male-snap-in projection in solely a plane substantially transversely perpendicular to the flat face, said male base structure defining a substantially flat face with said male-snapin projection extending about perpendicularly to the flat face of the male base such that when mated with male-snap-in projection the male and female flat faces lie substantially flushly with one-another in parallel planes, and including for each of said male base structure and said female base structure a rigid integral, substantially flat handle projection for snap-inunification maneuvering and snap-out-separation maneuvering of the male-snap-in projection and the female receptacle, in which each of the rigid handle projection means extends laterally outwardly from its respective adjoining base structure''s flat face thereof in a plane substantially common to the plane of the adjoining flat face, said aperture being slightly larger than the largest dimension of said male projection, said female recaptacle having generally the same shape as said male projection and being slightly larger to accommodate said male projection, said receptacle substantially entirely covering said aperture on one side, said receptacle being integrally connected along its open edge to substantially the entire edge of said aperture except for a single cut-away, said cut-away being three-sided and extending into both the receptacle and the edge of said aperture thereby forming a single integral resilient tongue which has an intermediate curved portion extending into said aperture and an end portion spaced from the end of the cut-away portion in the edge of said aperture, such that upon insertion of the male projection the curved portion flexes radially outwardly to thereafter snap-back radially inwardly to snap-secure the male projection within the receptacle, the male projection having an enlarged head relative to its neck portion and each of the male and female base structures including integral link ring structure attached to and including a cord means providing a necklace of miniature structure drapable around one''s appendage with the cord means extending between the respective link Ring structures of the male and female base structures.
 2. A necklace device of claim 1, in which said cord means includes a chain made-up of a series of chain-like links interconnected with one-another. 